Shaken, Not Stirred
by BrenRenQoI
Summary: An alternate take on All Shook Up, in which Clark's folks can't get a flight out to Metropolis… leaving him free to welcome Lois's company when she places that late-night phone booth call.


Shaken, Not Stirred

By Bren Ren

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Summary: An alternate take on All Shook Up, in which Clark's folks can't get a flight out to Metropolis… leaving him free to welcome Lois's company when she places that late-night phone booth call.

Rating: nFic All the Way, Baby! Mature Audience, Adults Only, Super-sexual content

Disclaimer: If wishes were Kryptonite, Superman would not be able to live on this planet. I only wish somebody would pay me to write this stuff! Not for profit, just a need to exercise my artistic license.

~~*S*~~

~~*S*~~

Heaven can wait,  
And a band of Angels wrapped up in my heart,  
Will take me through the lonely night,  
Through the cold of the day.

I got a taste of paradise,  
I'm never gonna let it slip away.  
I got a taste of paradise,

That's all I really need to make me stay.

Heaven can wait.  
And all I've got is time until the end of time.

~~*S*~~

~~*S*~~

Lois Lane stood inside the phone booth for a long moment before she worked up the courage to do what she'd been fighting against for so long: reach out to Clark Kent—on a totally personal level. With a big gulp and a shaky hand, she grabbed the receiver and punched out Clark's phone number before she lost her nerve again. It only rang a couple of times before the line was picked up by her absent-memory-minded partner. "Clark? Hi… It's Lois." She cringed at how weak, even desperate her voice sounded. "Listen, uh, I was just wondering if you could stand some company?"

"Yeah, actually, I could," Clark answered, and a legion of rabid butterflies launched a full-scale assault in her gut. "My folks were going to come on out to Metropolis, but the whole end-of-the-world Armageddon has pretty much maxed out all flight bookings. I hate to say it, but it's probably a lot worse for them than me, not being able to see me before… well, you know… I just don't really feel any sort of connection to them." Clark paused, and she heard a light chuckle coming through the line. "You, on the other hand… even though you're not really family… we're just… friends, partners… but for some reason, I do feel somehow connected to you… almost… familiar, I guess."

Lois smiled softly. She knew exactly how he felt in that regard, but even now she couldn't bring herself to say the words aloud. "Well, we are friends. Good friends. And you've probably seen a lot more of me than your parents since we became partners. Maybe it's a sign that your memory is returning, just really slowly."

"I wish it would hurry up" Clark replied with a hint of frustration seeping into his tone. "Not much time left, what with the end of the world drawing nigh."

"Then I'd best get off the phone and hop on over," she answered sounding a lot more confident than she felt. "See you in a few."

"Waiting with baited breath," Clark returned before they disconnected the call.

True to her word, Lois was knocking on Clark's front door less than five minutes later. She had to wonder if he'd been waiting right by the door when he answered almost before she even finished knocking. As he took in the sight of her, his features were lighted by that warm, welcoming smile of his that she'd come to love so dearly over the few short months of their partnership.

"Come on in," Clark invited, stepping to the side to give her space to enter. He closed the door behind her, and then his hand came up to rest against the small of her back, another typical Clark gesture she secretly adored. He led her down the short staircase and towards the sofa in his living room, but halfway across, he paused mid-step. As Lois turned a querying eye towards him, his hand left her back to wave toward the kitchen, and she immediately missed the warmth of his touch. "Would you like something to drink? I seem to have a pretty vast collection of teas."

That sounded like the perfect solution to calm her frayed nerves, and she nodded in acquiescence. When Clark's hand returned to her back, she couldn't quite stop the soft, contented sigh that slipped out between her lips. Clark seemed to have caught that slight whisper of sound, as he tilted his head down toward hers and rested his cheek against the top of her head with a mellifluous sigh of his own. Once inside the kitchen, though, he lifted his head and brought his hand back from behind her and moved to work on the beverage preparations. He had to open several cupboards before he found the kettle, and as he pulled it out, he dragged a finger across the top, leaving a light streak through the layer of dust on it.

"For as much tea as I found in the cabinet, you'd think this would look a little more… used," Clark mused.

Lois mimicked his gesture, raking a finger across the dusty metal and inspecting the indecent amount of grunge caught on her fingertip. "That is a little odd," she mused in return with a small shake of her head. "But then, you've always been a bit of the odd-man-out."

"Have I?" That idea seemed very amusing to Clark as he chuckled his way to the kitchen sink to rinse off the kettle and fill it with the water for their tea. After he set it on the stovetop and turned the burner on high, he moved back to the cabinet filled with his vast and eclectic collection of teas. "Black or green?" Clark offered.

"Got any chamomile?" Lois peered over his shoulder into the cabinet. "That's usually good… calming."

Clark rummaged through the shelves for a moment before finding a box of herbal teas fit for her order. "Chamomile it is, then." As he pulled a couple of bags out of the box, Lois fetched a couple of mugs from another cabinet and set them down on the counter beside the stove. "So is your family in Metropolis?" Clark asked as he unwrapped the tea bags and set dropped them into the waiting cups.

"Nope, afraid not. Well… truth be told, I'm kinda glad they aren't here," she admitted a bit sheepishly. "But we did manage to get everyone on the line for a conference call earlier, so I guess we've had about as much of a peaceful farewell as we're likely to get in the Lane family."

"I'm sorry," Clark told her softly.

"It's okay," she replied with a wistful smile. "That's pretty much the norm for my family anyway. We were never close; certainly not as close as you and your parents are."

Clark shook his head. "Maybe we were, but we aren't really all that close right now. They may as well be complete strangers."

"Now I'm the one who's sorry," Lois cajoled.

"Thanks," Clark answered. The kettle abruptly started its customary screeching whistle, signaling that the water was fully heated. Clark extinguished the flame and carefully filled both waiting mugs. He reached back up into the cupboard with the tea and extracted a small jar of honey. "Feel like indulging in the good stuff tonight?"

"Might as well," she answered with a bittersweet little grin. "Not much point worrying about my girlish figure at this late date."

"I can't imagine you'd have much to worry about in that department, even if this wasn't the end of time," Clark told her with a definite teasing gleam in his eye. Lois blushed. "Why don't we take these on out to the living room?" After Lois nodded, Clark once again gently guided her to the other room with that big strong hand of his low on her back.

They sat down side by side on the couch, careful not to spill their steaming mugs. They sat there in complete silence for several beats, each staring absently down at the wisps of steam drifting up from their cups. The air began to grow thick with the tension of all the unspoken thoughts and feelings building between them. Then the pregnant pause finally went into labor, and Clark cleared his throat as Lois started to fidget next to him.

"So—" They started to speak together, and like a soap bubble bursting, the tension instantly dissipated as they shared a light laugh.

"Sorry," Clark offered.

"Yeah, me too." Lois shook the last of her mirth away and turned to face Clark a little more directly. "What were you going to say?"

Clark opened his mouth, but then seemed to think better of it as he shook his head slowly. "Ladies first," he told her gently.

"Oh, ummm… okay." That legion of butterflies launched round two as she struggled to find the words to share her thoughts with him. "I was just thinking that… you know, if this really is the end… it would just suck to go without some… closure."

"Closure?" Clark's brow wrinkled in confusion. "You mean… between us?"

Lois gulped, and she felt like her entire body was trembling head to toe. She tried vainly to keep her lips from quivering as she confirmed his guess. "Yeah. Us." She needed one more hefty lungful of steadying air before she could press on. "I know you don't really remember it now, but when we first met, I was… well, I was pretty awful to you. Condescending, rude, overbearing, arrogant… and that was on a good day. I never really gave you a fair shake, even though you really deserved it, and I just… I wanted you to know that I really am sorry for being so mean to you. You've only ever been a good friend to me, even when I totally didn't deserve it."

Clark set his mug down on the coffee table, and then reached up with one warm hand to lightly caress her cheek. "Somehow, I don't think I ever minded that much. If I had, I probably wouldn't have such a good feeling about you now."

"Really?" Lois eyed him skeptically as he nodded his assurance. "Huh. Even with full-blown amnesia, you still managed to find just the right words that I need to hear. You really are the most compassionate man I have ever known."

This time, it was Clark's turn to blush. "Well, I'd have to say that you are by far the most captivating person I've met since this whole memory-wipe thing. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that I'd still feel that way even if I get all my memories back."

His hand was still resting lightly on her cheek with one thumb grazing her cheekbone in the softest, most sensual touch Lois had ever known. She tilted her head into the palm of his hand, causing it to slip a little lower down her cheek. His thumb now stretched a little to tenderly rub the full length of her bottom lip, and Lois gasped in surprise. She hadn't ever expected the feelings she suddenly found coursing through her veins to be initiated by Clark Kent. Her eyes grew wide as the two of them locked horns and time seemed to come to a complete halt.

"Clark…" His name came out on a breathless whisper as another powerful tremble charged through her body.

Clark's eyes, meanwhile, were growing dark, darker than she'd ever seen. "Lois…" He, too, couldn't manage to produce more than a hoarse whisper of her name at first. "If you don't stop me right now… I'm going to kiss you."

Lois sucked in another sharp little gasp before she began to lean in toward her partner. "What are you waiting for?"

He didn't even try to verbalize an answer. He just smiled, the most wickedly sexy smile she'd ever seen grace his lips before they finally came into contact with hers. At that first contact, she gasped yet again, but this time, rather than pulling in fresh air, she stole the honey-sweet breath right out of Clark's mouth. He took her parted lips as an invitation and gently slid his tongue forward, grazing along her lips in his slow quest to explore every last millimeter of her mouth.

Lips and tongues collided, danced, dueled; every touch and every stroke matched beat for beat as their bodies quickly heated with passion. Each their own blood was racing through their veins with the ever-quickening beating of their hearts. The connection between them was incredibly intense, and far more than just the physical contact bound them together as they savored every moment, so that every heartbeat, every last touch and tender caress would be caught and seared into memory for all time—or however much of it they had left.

Lois finally wrenched herself out of the embrace, and her face was as flushed as her breathing was erratic; she was fairly panting in short little gasps that held no hope of catching up to her racing pulse.

"Whoa…" Clark slowly lifted his eyelids, and Lois positively drank in the hooded passion clouding his gaze. "That was… uh…"

"Yeah," Lois agreed faintly. "Very…"

"Very." The corners of his mouth slowly crept up into a truly sultry smile that stole what little breath she had gathered up after that kiss.

"Clark, I—" Lois broke off when she had to choke down a bubble of panic. This could well be their last night on this earth, and she would be utterly damned if she let this last chance slip away untested. "There's something I want—I need to tell you… before it's too late." Again she paused, leaving Clark to stare at her with patient expectance. She drew in another tremulous breath and plunged ahead. "It's just… I've been, well, fighting this… this connection between us for a long time. Maybe always. I've never had much luck in the romance department—especially not with someone I work with, and I guess I just let my fears rule me, hold me back… keep me safe… from being hurt again." Again, Lois paused, this time to let out a dark, self-derisive snort. "That's probably why I latched onto Superman so tightly; he's basically the epitome of the unattainable ideal, perfect for loving from afar. He's a great fantasy… but I think deep down… I've always known that a fantasy is all he will ever really be—at least in the whole relationship game."

Clark nodded softly and his eyes conveyed sincere empathy—he understood exactly what she was getting at, and to her great relief, he didn't seem to be inclined to think any less of her for it. "Everybody fantasizes, Lois. And it's the hope for the possibility of those dreams coming true that makes a fantasy so alluring."

Lois nodded back. "But when you become so focused on the fantasy that you can't see what's right in front of you… you might miss out on the greatest thing that could ever happen to you before you even realized the opportunity was knocking at the door to your heart." Lois closed her eyes tight and willed away those mutinous butterflies in her tummy so she could finally do what she'd come here for. If this truly was their last chance, she didn't want her lengthy list of life-regrets to include not taking advantage of this golden opportunity to once and for all lay every last one of her tenderhearted cards on the table—it was time to go all in. "I can't bear the thought of leaving this life without ever telling you how much you mean to me, Clark."

Clark's smile faded just the slightest as his expression grew somber. "Tell me," he urged her softly.

For reasons she could not fathom, that soft voice and that tender smile quite suddenly and thoroughly chased away those last lingering nervous fears of hers, eliciting in their stead a feeling of surety, of hope, of pure and unadulterated joy. "You're my best friend. I never really had a best friend until you came into my life. And you… you're simply amazing, Clark Kent. I don't think I have ever—will ever meet anyone quite like you. No matter how hard I've tried to push you away, you just keep coming back for more. You're the first partner I could ever stand working with… actually, the truth is… I really like working with you. We make a great team."

Clark smiled, unabashedly flattered by her words. "That really is high praise coming from Lois Lane—if the water cooler talk is to be believed," he added with a wink.

"Ha ha," Lois countered. "As I was trying to say… it's a lot more than just our working relationship that has always drawn me to you. No one can deny how attractive you are, and you certainly attracted my interest when I came over to that no-tell motel the first time I picked you up for work and found you wearing nothing but a little white towel… I think that sight was instantly burned on the inside of my eyelids, and I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I hadn't wished that towel would slip off."

A very becoming blush warmed Lois's cheeks, and it was definitely matched in saturation with the flush stealing across her partner's features. "Now that is one memory I really wish I could recall," he said with that wicked gleam in his eye.

"Well," Lois began with a teasing glint flickering into her stare, "We could re-enact the scene. You could go hop in the shower, then wrap up in the towel before you come out to greet me." That earned her a hearty chuckle that she shared quite happily. As their laughter faded, though, Lois's features grew sober before she spoke again. "This really could be our last chance, Clark… and I think we should make the most of whatever time we have left. I, for one, am just plain tired of being held back by and hung up on all these childish fears… and if I don't fight to break free of them tonight… I don't want to go out still held prisoner by fear. It's the things in life we don't do that we regret most at the end… and I do not want this to be one of those regrets."

"What is it you do want, Lois?" Clark asked carefully.

Lois reached out to join her hand with his as she answered, "I want to be with you…to make love with you… before it's too late." Clark's jaw dropped a fair few centimeters at that bold statement. "Maybe I shouldn't ask this of you… I sort of feel like I'm taking advantage of you. I mean, we're practically strangers as far as you know."

There was no mistaking the warmth in Clark's eyes, nor the pure love radiating through his gaze. "As much of a blank slate as my brain is right now, I still don't feel like you and I are strangers. It's like having someone's name on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't quite get it out… that's the sort of familiarity I feel whenever I see you. Or even when I just think about you. And I swear Lois, no matter what happens, or doesn't happen, I'll never feel like you're taking advantage of me. At least, not in any way that isn't equally and mutually beneficial."

"So… you're saying…" Lois trailed off as the swarm rallied one more time deep in her belly and she realized that her long-suppressed desire was on the verge of complete fulfillment.

"As you said," Clark filled in, "Let's make the most of whatever time we have. If we're going out, we'll go out in a blaze of glory." A slow smile stole across Lois's features as Clark stood up. Before she could rise to her feet, Clark bent down and scooped her up into the cradle of his arms. Lois reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her back to his bedroom. He took her straight to his bed and laid her down ever so gently, and then he pressed a soft kiss to her temple before he came to rest sitting beside her.

Clark lifted his hand to brush an errant lock of her hair away from her eyes, and then he trailed his fingertips along the side of her face, grazing the edge of her ear as it lightly slid lower still to lovingly caress the length of her slender throat. Then he leaned down into her again, and he dropped a soft, brief kiss on her full lips before moving his mouth to follow the path his fingers had just meandered.

"Oh, Clark," she murmured in response to his tender touch. She brought one hand up to cup his cheek as he continued administering his oral magic across her clavicle and back up the other side of her neck.

"So beautiful," Clark breathed just before returning his mouth to join hers.

Even though they were painfully aware of how precious little time they had, neither was inclined to rush through this experience, this first intimate liaison together. Theirs was a slow-burning passion this dark night, one that was steadily growing in intensity, but not in speed. Articles of clothing were removed one teasing garment at a time, with plenty leisurely exploring of every inch of flesh exposed bit by bit; little by little, they worked in tandem, a harmonized point and counterpoint until they both lay naked to the world of Clark's bedroom.

They took slow turns exploring and pleasuring one another, each making certain that mouths and hands, lips and fingers left not one bit of skin untouched. As Clark's expert mouth worked each of her breasts in turn, Lois cried out his name and moaned over the exquisite pleasure he treated her to; Lois then returned the favor in equal measure, covering the broad span of his chest with butterfly kisses, and even nibbling the perky tips of his man-nipples. A grumbling groan rumbled through Clark's chest. Lois felt its vibrations against her heated skin as much as she heard it over the blood rushing in her ears.

Without warning, Clark rose up, turned and pinned Lois beneath him. He stared down at her for a long moment, and his eyes seemed to be searching for something. Lois gave him her most assuring, loving smile as she reached up with one hand to draw his mouth back down to hers. Just before their lips could make contact, Clark halted and held his head still. She could actually taste his moist, warm breath as he hovered over her for what felt like a good couple of lifetimes.

"Clark?" Lois finally prompted when he continued to simply stare at her from above. "Is something wrong?"

That last word caught his attention and he shook his head as if to clear it. "No, no… nothing's wrong. It's just that… this suddenly seemed familiar. We haven't done this before, have we?"

"Not exactly," Lois answered, though she wasn't trying to be evasive. "And certainly not with all our clothes off," she added with a cheeky smirk. When Clark's confused expression deepened, she explained a little further. "We had an undercover assignment no too long ago. We were posing as newlyweds in the honeymoon suite of the Lexor so we could stake out a shady plot to flood Metropolis with a new military weapon-induced tsunami. And there was this maid who barged in to give us more towels… Somehow you'd heard her coming, so you threw the covers over our equipment before throwing me down on the bed and yourself on top of me, and then you started kissing me… really, really kissing me. I must've replayed that little episode a thousand times in my head ever since."

Clark waggled his brow at her. "Must've been some kiss."

"It was," she answered. "But this," she added with a firm tug to draw him into ever more intimate contact with her, "is way better. Way, way better."

Clark didn't speak an answer this time, but instead dropped his head down that last scant distance to close the space between them. This time, their passion did begin escalating quite rapidly, as did the pace of their lips and tongues, arms and hands and fingers. And then, at long last, Clark plunged ahead that final distance, entering her, filling her completely in one deliriously long thrust. They both cried out for joy as their bodies finally, intimately merged together in that dance as old as time itself.

Their intercourse was a far cry from any sort of boring, traditional positioning, and in fact, they rolled and tumbled about, playfully adjusting and switching between a variety of positions that could have come straight off the pages of the Kama Sutra. As they finally began approaching their climax, Clark rose up on his knees while Lois clung to him with her legs hooked around behind his. They showered one another with countless kisses of all kinds as Clark brought one of those big strong hands of his in between their bodies.

As the bump and grind between them continued to build, Clark's questing fingers found their slick joined sexes and began fondling her in all the right places. Lois moaned, groaned, whimpered, even shouted as the pleasure built higher and higher while his fingers worked her faster and faster. Soon he was physically and literally vibrating pure energy against that most sensitive region of the female anatomy, and it was faster, stronger, and more intense than even her best battery operated toys.

"Yes! Oh, God, yes, Clark!" Lois called out, nearly screaming out the rafters as those wonderful tingling sensations began spreading from her center outward. And then, as just as she careened over the edge of orgasmic ecstasy, with Clark tumbling over right there with her, she did scream: "Oh my God… Superman!"

Clark poured himself into her as they fell back onto the mattress with Lois coming to rest on top. After several minutes of cool-down and the slowing of their passion-driven heartbeats, Clark slid a hand into Lois's dark, silky tresses and gently urged her head up.

"Did you just call me Superman?" Clark asked, his voice clearly communicating his hurt and dismay.

Lois dragged one arm up, bent her elbow to rest on Clark's chest as her head lay heavily on her hand. "I did." Clark's frown deepened, and she could swear there was a sheen of unspent tears welling up in his eyes. "What you did right there at the end… that was quite simply impossible—for any normal human being. And that could only mean one thing. You, my dear lover-boy… are Superman!"

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Fin!


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